


Regrets

by wordscorrupt



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Dad!Steve, Dad!Tony, Fluff, Gen, Hospital, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Spiderman, Superfamily, sick!Peter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 18:52:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11584047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordscorrupt/pseuds/wordscorrupt
Summary: Peter Roger-Stark is the fourteen-year-old son of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. He loves his parents and admires what they do, but at time resents when they can not be there for him.This is one of those times.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Be gentle! I'm a huge fan of the Marvel characters and was introduced to them via the movies. Therefore, these stories may have inaccuracies in me, so bare with me. 
> 
> I love hurt!Peter with a dose of dad!Tony and dad!Steve there to save the day...or maybe not...

Fourteen year-old Peter Roger-Stark’s life could be easily summed up in one word: boring. The average person would have thought that the sole child of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers would be filled with adventure and entertainment and whatever other adjectives one could possibly think of.

 

He was not popular at school. Quite the contrary in fact. He did not stand out in any particular way and a part of him appreciated that fact, but there had to be a certain line. He excelled in school, but he did not receive any recognition, from his teachers nor his dads, as it was expected of him given the fact that one half of his parental unit was a genius. He had lucked out on his best friend, Ned, but other than that most of the other students at the school managed to care less about him day by day.

 

His parents loved him, of course, but gone were the days of Dad and Pops doting on him every second of the day. Peter was accustomed to coming home now to an empty mansion most days of the week, but he could not blame his parents as a hectic schedule is necessary to their lifestyle of being, well, superheroes. He had Jarvis there to keep him company, as sad as that may sound, and Ned was allowed at his place whenever his friend’s parents allowed it which given the fact that the tower was always a target for villains, was not that often. Even after his parents purchased a home closer to his school, he still managed to not see his best friend as often as either one would have liked. For that same reason it was easy to understand why his friend’s parents were hesitant on even allowing Peter to come to their house because, hello, only son of Iron Man and Captain America was sure to put a target on his back. 

 

He held no resentment, that is most times. But today was not one of those days. As much as Peter prided himself in being old enough to not need his parents every second of every day, he was still a child. A sick child. A feverish, wheezing, constipated and vomiting child.

 

“Young Sir, I would highly recommend not laying on the bathroom floor. The amount of germs and bacteria-” Jarvis stated and Peter cut him off with a moan, waving a hand at the A.I. as if to tell him it was O.K.

 

“Thank you for the insight Jarvis, but unless you can summon a chair here, this is the only way I’ll be close enough in case I need to throw up in the toilet for the hundredth time.”

 

“I have contacted your fathers, sir. No response yet. They may be in an area where communication signals are not able to be received.”

 

“Mhmm,” Peter murmured as he curled up, whimpering at how much his stomach ached. He wrapped his arms around his mid-region, applying pressure in hopes to alleviate some of the pain but it only ignited the fire within him even further making him cry out. The bathroom floor was rough and disgusting, but cold enough to nourish part of his fevered body that he managed to overlook those first two parts.

 

“Your symptoms are correlated with that of appendicitis, young Sir. If I am unable to reach your parents, I will have to notify emergency responders.”

 

“What? God, no. No paramedics. It’s just a stomach ache, Jarvis. Wherever dad and pops are doing, it must be important. They are going to rush all the way to the hospital and be furious when they realize I just had gas or something easily as minor. No notifying anyone,” Peter demanded. His dad more than likely programmed Jarvis to ignore Peter’s demands in this kind of situation, but he was praying that the A.I. would not follow through on what Peter saw as a threat. He could not fall victim to a simple stomach ache in such a way that made him seem like a whiny kid. Everyone had stomach aches now and then. He was just on the receiving end of a very bad one, but it had to eventually pass. His fathers risked life and limb every day and they would be ashamed to have a son who could not even a handle a simple tummy ache without bringing paramedics to the house.

 

“Sir, if you are having appendicitis, there is a limited time frame of removing the appendix before it will inevitably explode, sending toxins throughout your entire body, which could lead to death if left untreated.”

 

“Jarvis! Just a stomach ache. Dad and Pops will be here soon. Probably have Uncle Bruce poke and prod me, give me some disgusting medicine and then they’ll tuck me into bed.” Peter argued. He was trying to convince himself of those same words. A part of him wanted Jarvis to notify the paramedics if only that he would be able to see his parents sooner rather than later because at the moment he wished for nothing more than having his father's’ soothing arms around him. Maybe they would see Peter as being whiny, but damn it he deserved to be needy every now and then, especially when he was this sick.

 

“Still unable to reach your parents, young Sir. I will attempt one more time before notifying emergency responders who would be here in approximately three minutes,” Jarvis stated and Peter started to argue back before he suddenly lurched up from his spot and threw up whatever was left in his stomach into the toilet bowl and with all the grace he could muster, feel back onto the floor.

 

“Emergency responders have been notified, young Sir. They will take care of you and I will continue calling your parents until I am able to reach them and update them on the circumstance.” Peter groaned, hearing sirens in the distance but he felt relief from the fact that help was coming. Did he mention the fact that he had been curled up on the bathroom floor for about three hours now?

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Jarvis began directing the startled paramedics as soon as they had entered the mansion.

 

“This is a first,” One of the muttered as he gazed around, thinking someone was playing a prank on them.

 

“Please continue up the stairs in front of you, turning a left as you reach the top. From there, you will continue down the hallway until you reach the third door on the right. It is closed, but I have unlocked it for you.”

 

The paramedics had nothing to do but follow the ominous, stern voice and soon reached their destination, opening it to find a small child curled up on the bathroom floor.

 

“This is Peter. Fourteen-years-old. Temperature is 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Pulse, ninety. Respirations are eighteen per minute. Symptoms include coughing, vomiting and abdominal pain. Parents are on a business trip and unable to be reached at the moment,” Jarvis supplied information for the men.

 

“Thank you?” One of them hesitantly replied, still looking up for the source of the voice as the other three men started to assess their patient.

 

“Peter, my name is Mark. I’m one of the paramedics here to help you. Can you tell me what hurts at the moment?” Mark asked, as he and another carefully rolled Peter onto his back being careful to not let the kid’s head smack onto the ground.

 

“Just my tummy, a lot,” Peter said softly, trying to keep his nerves at bay not liking the fact that he was getting touched by strangers. At least it would have been just Uncle Bruce if Jarvis didn’t overreact. Tears sprang to his eyes and he could not help but have his lower lip tremble at the thought of knowing he was in such a vulnerable state at the moment and the only two people he wished for might be thousands of miles away.

 

“We’re going to help you, okay? We’ll contact your parents when we are at the hospital, okay?” Mark reassured him and Peter just nodded his head, desperately trying to blink away the tears in his eyes. Peter felt a blood pressure cuff getting wrapped around his arm while a pen light was harshly directed to his eyes.

 

“When did you start feeling sick, buddy?” Mark continued to lead with his series of questions.

 

“C-couple days ago, I think. Wasn’t this bad,” Peter murmured, trying desperately not to focus on the action surrounding him. He whimpered as he felt a cold metal piece being placed, underneath his shirt and onto his feverish chest and he tried to squirm away.

 

“You’re okay, shh. You’re okay, kiddo. Just let us take care of you,” Mark cooed, smoothing Peter’s hair back with one hand while the other moved the stethoscope around the little boy’s chest, listening carefully.

 

“I-I just want daddy and papa,” Peter whispered and one that cue he could no longer hold up the brave facade he desperately was holding onto and soft sobs wracked his already tortured body.

 

“They’ll be at the hospital, buddy,” One of the other men spoke up, while gently wiping away the tears running down the boy’s soft, red cheeks.

 

"P-promise?" Peter cried softly, knowing full well that this man could not make such a statement but it was the only thing Peter could hold on and hope for.

 

"Promise, kiddo."

 

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Well, that was just utterly fucking ridiculous," Tony cursed as he threw his exhausted body onto the seat of the plane, his husband following suite and taking a seat across from him.

 

"Language," Steve responded, giving Tony a pointed look and if it wasn't for the fact that Steve's rugged, sweat-induced body was doing great wonders for Tony's he would have flunged his husband out of the plane.

 

As if.

 

But, someone had to cut him a break. A four hour, all doors closed, no electronics meeting with the rest of his team, along with half of the top shitheads at S.H.I.E.L.D. was sure to raise Tony's blood pressure slowly towards the line Bruce had clearly told him to stop trying to cross. All to be informed of new rising threats that Tony had figured out weeks ago.

 

Tony looked down from where he had been staring at the ceiling of the plane, back at his husband who just raised an eyebrow at him.

 

"You're going to be making this up for me. You do realize that only one of us had to be there, but oh no, this needs to be a team effort. I am never listening to you again, Rogers. Expect when it comes to every household decision we'll ever have to make, but other than that, you're done," Tony confronted and Steve smiled knowingly, moving to place a hand on his husband's knee.

 

"How do you want me to make that up for you exactly?" Steve asked, voice hushed as he slowly slid his hand up further-

 

_SMACK_

 

"Not in front of the children!" Natasha scolded, pointing towards Clint and Thor who were in the midst of an arm wrestle and poor Clint looked like as if he was about two seconds away from passing out.

 

Steve chuckled, leaning back in his seat while Tony let out a shuddered breath, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone and try to keep his mind off everything.

 

Only a few seconds later was a startled cry heard throughout the entire plane. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Comments are always appreciated :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If it gets too fluffy for you...too bad! There is always superfamily fluff to go around.

In retrospect, putting his suit on and getting ready to break out of the plane was not the smartest decision that Tony could have decided on, but to give him credit he was just informed that his baby boy was sick, in the hospital and more than likely crying out for his daddy and papa.

 

It was chaos before any one of the heroes had been able to calm Tony down and drag him out of the suit so he could explain the reason behind his panic.

 

“Peter’s at the emergency room. He’s sick, vomiting everywhere. Curled up on the bathroom for almost four hours. Jarvis had to call paramedics to the house,” Tony revealed, taking a deep breath before looking up at his husband who had turned alarmingly pale as everyone else gasped and Tony let out another strained cry, “Oh God, Steve. Our baby boy’s in the hospital and we’re hundreds of miles away. I know the suit can get there faster, much faster.”

 

Steve sucked in a huge breath, reaching out with a shaky hand to grasp at his husband’s and gripped it tightly. He looked into Tony’s eyes and gave him one stern command, “Go.” Tony did not need to be told twice.

 

                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stationing his suit right outside the entrance door, Tony ran into the emergency room, cursing as he tried to not body slam into people. “Peter. Peter Roger-Stark. I’m his father, Tony Stark,” Tony gasped, taking deep breaths as he leaned against the desk in the waiting area. The nurse hardly look unnerved, taking her sweet time checking her computer. Tony felt like his chest was about to explode before she finally spoke up.

 

“If you want to wait-” The nurse began and was startled when the disgruntled father slammed a hand onto the counter.

 

“If I don’t see my son in the next ten seconds, I will make your life a personal hell. You know who I am, you know I can,” Tony threatened. Usually he was above making these threats, but when his baby was called into question, Tony did not have any line he would not cross. If Steve, his amazingly level-headed husband, had been here he would have earned a deserving smack across the back of the head, but he wasn’t and Tony was using that to his advantage.

 

Sure enough a few seconds Tony was being personally escorted through the secure double doors and each passing second felt like another year off his life. He was lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t realize the nurse had stopped walking and nearly rammed into her.

 

“The doctor should be in in a little bit to talk with you,” The nurse told him before turning right back around. Tony didn’t let another second go to waste as he threw the curtain off to the side and stumbled into the room.

 

“Oh, baby,” Tony cooed as his eyes landed on his son. He was abandoned, all alone in the room, curled up bed with a heavy blanket thrown over his small frame. He traced an IV line to one of his tiny hands while a blood pressure cuff and heart monitor kept steady observation of his son. Peter gasped softly, raising his head as much as he could and his eyes fell onto his dad. Tony never hated himself more than in the moment when he saw his baby boy’s swollen red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

 

“Daddy!” Peter cried, breaking into sobs once more. Tony ran forward, wrapping his arms around his son as gently as possible. Even though the action jolted Peter, the little boy could not care less because his dad was finally there.

 

“Oh sweetheart. Oh, baby. Daddy’s here. Daddy’s here now,” Tony reassured, peppering kisses onto the top of Peter’s head and face. Peter pressed his face against his father’s chest, while his arms held onto his father as if his life depended on it.

 

“Daddy, want to go home,” Peter whimpered out, having to take deep, shaky breaths before each word could be let out.

 

“Just as soon as you’re better sweetheart,” Tony promised, letting go of his son for a second so he could meet him eye level and gently cupped his cheeks.Peter wept softly, shaking his head, desperate hands grabbing onto his father’s shirt.

 

“No, daddy please. No hospital. Uncle Bruce can take care of me. I just want to go home. Just want you and papa, please,” Peter sniffled and Tony felt his heart break into even small pieces. Peter in that moment finally noticed that his Papa was nowhere to be seen and he quickly sought out an answer.

 

“He’s still in the plane, baby, flying home. I flew here in my suit,” Tony explained, running his fingers through his son’s wavy locks.

 

“Why didn’t you come sooner? Jarvis tried and tried,” Peter murmured and before Tony could apologize and explain, his son let out a heart wrenching cry as he doubled over in pain, grabbing his side desperately.

 

“Daddy, please make it stop!” Peter wailed and Tony started calling out for help, all while making sure Peter did not fall off the bed as he withered around in pain. He couldn’t imagine the pain Peter had been going through when he was home all alone.

 

Tony was about to start blasting the walls of the hospital before a doctor walked in, an apologetic look on his face. By that time, the pain had subsided and Peter had collapsed from exhaustion in Tony’s arms.

 

“Why the hell aren’t you giving him anything for the pain he’s in?” Tony seethed, pressing his son to his chest as gently as possible.

 

“I apologize, Mr. Stark. We suspected that your son had appendicitis when he came in and we had to refrain from giving him any medication in case he would be going into surgery. I just got the CT results back and it is indeed what we thought. But, it hasn’t ruptured which is a very fortunate thing. We’re going to be moving him up to surgery as soon as the OR is prepared which should be about roughly fifteen more minutes.”

 

Tony barely managed to swallow the bile that had threatened to come up when the doctor was informing him of everything.

 

His baby boy.

 

Appendicitis.

 

Surgery.

 

Tony was living in a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's here! And he's terrified. Maybe we should bring in Papa Rogers in the next chapter...? ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! And warning, I was too tired to edit this chapter or polish it but I wanted it up quickly lol. I am in desperate need of a beta reader so hit me up! Otherwise, enjoy!

His little boy had not registered the doctor’s words as he laid limp in his father’s arms, breaths shallow but Tony knew he needed to explain to Peter what was going to happen to prevent any trauma. He cradled Peter in his arms, pulling him up gently until his head was cushioned between his shoulder and chin.

 

“Daddy,” Peter whimpered, grabbing onto the front of his father’s shirt, inches away from the arc reactor.

 

“Baby, the doctors are going to make you feel better. Your little appendix has decided to rogue on you buddy, but a little surgery will fix you up good as new,” Tony explained gently. In a way his own words were trying to calm himself, reassuring that it was going to be a relatively minor surgery with little to no complications.

 

“Surgery?” Peter whispered, fear evident as his hot breath brush against his father’s neck and Tony hummed knowingly, pressing a kiss to his feverish forehead.

 

“Just a little one,” Tony reassured before adding, “Papa will be here when you wake up.” Peter sniffled but his heart burst at the thought of his papa being there when he woke up from the surgery. Even though neither one of his parents withheld any affection from him, ever, Peter had always tended to magnet towards Steve when he was sick or in need of comfort. Memories of being sick returned where Steve would cocoon his little boy in his arms, rocking him gently, pressing soft kisses to his cheeks while a quiet, soft lullaby would lull him to sleep.

 

“And Uncle Clint and Thor are probably going to buy out the entire gift shop for you after stealing my credit card,” Tony teased receiving a soft giggle followed by a hiccup. Tony grinned, reaching a hand up to smooth Peter’s hair back. A knock on the door took them out of their thoughts and Tony looked up to see a man dressed head to toe in scrubs walk in, a friendly smile plastered onto his face.

 

“Mr. Stark, I’m Dr. Tim Miller, the head pediatric anesthesiologist here at the hospital. I’ll be working with Dr. Lee who will be doing Peter’s surgery,” The man greeted and Tony would have taken the time to shake hands but he wasn’t about to let go of his son now therefore he offered a nod instead. He knew that the hospital was smart enough not to cut corners when it came to the son of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, otherwise he could not imagine the head anesthesiologist being dragged down to do a minor surgery. He watched as the man leaned against the counter before pulling out his son’s chart.

 

“I just have a couple questions here for you. Has Peter ever underwent any form of anesthesia before? Even something as minor as Novocain for a dental procedure?” Tony shook his head and the next few minutes spent going over his baby’s medical history and now more than ever Tony wished for his husband. Steve took the lead when it came to his son’s yearly checkups and immunization schedules. He had their pediatrician’s number on speed dial. He knew this better than Tony and at the moment he felt a tang of guilt and shame. It was just that Tony had the full time job of running a company along with being Iron Man. Steve was just home more often than him. But it wasn’t as if being Captain America didn’t steal Steve away from home at times either.

 

Peter remained quiet throughout the entire thing except for a few whimpers here and there as his side flared up but Tony was there to comfort and aid every time. Dr. Miller described in a few details the process of putting Peter under anesthesia before he came closer to them, gently introducing himself to Peter and then carefully listening to his heart and lungs.

 

“Good,” Dr. Miller murmured as he finished his examination before giving a reassuring nod, “This is going to be a relatively easy procedure Mr. Stark. Peter is an otherwise very healthy young boy therefore we should not expect any complications during the surgery. We’re looking at a little bit over an hour, maybe two for the entire procedure. About an hour in recovery where you’ll be able to see him before we move him up the post-surgical unit. Dr. Lee expects him to stay for at least two nights but he’ll have a better conversation with you after the surgery. I’m afraid he didn’t have the time to come down and personally talk with you before the surgery as he just finished one up before he began prepping for Peter’s.”

 

Tony sighed and just nodded his head, wishing he could fast forward to the moment where he could take his son away from here, healthy and happy.

 

The next few minutes become a blurry sequence of a nightmare as the surgical team arrived to wheel Peter away from him. Tony had to let go of Peter and he glared at the nurse who instructed him to do so as if Tony wouldn’t have an easier time pulling his heart out than letting his baby be taken away from him and strapped to a metal table to be sliced open.

 

“Daddy,” Peter whimpered, tears starting to leak out his eyes once more as he looked up at his father, holding his arms back up and Tony had to bite his tongue from breaking down.

 

“Daddy’s right here baby. They’re going to have to take you now for the surgery but daddy and papa will be right there when you wake up. You’re going to be a brave little soldier for me, right honey?” Tony soothed, holding Peter’s hand as they started to wheel him away. Peter shook his head, sobs wreaking havoc on his body and Tony’s heart beat against his rib cage, crying out for release as he felt a little piece of his heart exploding each second that they continued to wheel his son away from him.

 

“Mr. Stark, we can’t allow you to go any further. It is a restricted area,” One of the surgical assistant stopped Tony from following his baby boy past the double doors. She pointed to a glaring red warning sign on the door, stating “Authorized Personnel Only”

 

“That’s my little boy though,” Tony gulped, turning around to look at the woman thinking that that statement only should surely grant him access. The woman sighed softly, patting him on the shoulder.

 

“He’s in good hands. I’ll personally update you ever half hour. Let’s get you to the surgery waiting room, okay?”

 

Tony took a deep shaky breath, running his fingers through his hair before grudgingly accepting letting her lead the way.

 

Tony had been sitting there for only twenty minutes when he heard the scatter of different voices resonating from down the hallway and only a few seconds later a disgruntled nurse was escorting his team, including his husband into the private waiting room.

 

“Tony,” Steve cried, letting out a sigh of relief as he closed the distance between his husband and engulfed him in hug, wrapping his arms as tight as possible without causing injury. Tony pressed his face against his shoulder, letting a few tears leak out and he brushed them away when Steve let go and stepped back. Tony glanced behind him at the team and if it wasn’t for the situation at hand he would have joked that Clint had decided to embrace Halloween a little too early and became Casper the not-so-friendly ghost.

 

“Appendicitis. He’s in surgery right now. Doctors said it could from an hour to two, but he should fully recover and be out of here in two days,” Tony informed them knowing they wanted him to cut to the chase. He turned to look at Steve and couldn’t mistake the red rims surrounding his husband’s eyes for anything but the fact that he had been crying in the airplane on his way here. Steve just gave him a warm look before sitting down in the chair behind him and dragging Tony down gently to sit next to him.

 

“Tell me how he was when you got here,” Steve asked and Tony sighed, rubbing at his eyes, not wanting to explain the state their son had been in. He would never live down the guilt and he didn’t want relieve any part of it but he knew that Steve would not relent until he knew.

 

So Tony told him. From the minute he stepped into the room to the point where he saw them wheel their baby boy past the double doors to the operating room. Steve had let go of Tony’s hand to grasp onto the arm chair instead because otherwise he would have broken his husband’s hand from his grip. He felt the need to throw every chair into the windows and rip every tile from the ceiling and floor with his bare hands.

 

“We should have been there for him. This is all my fault. I should have known that Jarvis would have no way to contact me in case of any emergency in the meeting,” Tony gasped voice broke his thoughts. Steve choked and reached over to cup his husband’s cheek but Tony was not having any of it. He had been through hell these past few hours and he had reached his breaking point. If only for that fact that he knew Steve was there to get him through it.

 

“It could have been a fire or an attack, Steve! He could have fallen down the stairs! And we wouldn’t have been there!” Tony cried, grabbing at his head as he got up from his chair and started pacing.

 

“Tony, honey, you made it that Jarvis is programmed to notify emergency services- “

 

“It doesn’t matter, Steve! Because we weren’t there! We. Were. Not. There. An A.I. should not have to make sure our son is safe. He’s our baby boy! We’re supposed to keep watch! We’re supposed to keep him safe! Not leave him alone for a stupid fucking meeting! He had been sick for two days and we didn’t even notice! He was in pain for two days, Steve. Two fucking days our baby was in pain and we didn’t have a single clue! And because of that he’s in an operating room with a tube stuck down his throat!”

 

Steve got up from his chair quickly and gently grabbed Tony’s face, wiping the tears away with his thumbs as his own flowed freely.

 

“We’re going to make it up to him, Tony. I promise we will. I will not let this happen again. We will not let anything like this happen again, sweetheart. Promise.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! So I hope that was enough fluff after all the hurt I put Peter through. Will that be the last little bit of hurt though..who knows? :) Watch out for the next update. Meanwhile, review, comment, cry, give suggestions on what you want to see, or anything else. Later! XO


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord, I am so sorry for not updating this in forever. I got carried away by my other series which if you haven't checked out you should because it's full of Peter!whump

After the initial outburst, Steve managed to get Tony to sit back down, murmuring soft reassurances into the brunette’s ear. Steve pressed a kiss to Tony’s temple before he saw Bruce approaching them with two cups, one coffee (Steve, because he was going to need it) and water (Tony, because the last thing he needed was coffee) in his hands and a weary smile.

 

“I just talked to the nurse. Everything is going great and she said we’ll be able to see him in about an hour,” Bruce informed, handing the cups over to Steve. Steve offered him a smile in return, taking the two drinks. He drowned his in two gulps before sitting down in the chair next to his husband and gently wrapping Tony’s fingers around his own cup.

 

“Drink,” He persuaded softly, pushing the cup up to Tony’s lips. Thankfully, Tony managed a few sips of the water without argument and he offered the cup back at Steve a few moments later, not bothering to look up from his lap.

 

Steve took a second to glance at the rest of the team that was scattered around the waiting room each with an anxious worried expression plastered across their face.

 

“H-how-,” Tony’s voice cracked and he swallowed heavily before saying,” How long do symptoms for appendicitis show up for, Bruce?” The questioned took the the two man sitting on opposite sides of him by surprise. Bruce gave a slightly alarmed look to Steve before looking back at his friend. They both knew where this was heading.

 

“There are several symptoms associated with appendicitis, Tony. It can start with just a simple stomach ache. But with children it’s usually acute. In just a matter of hours.”

 

“Tony-” Steve started but was cut off.

 

“It wasn’t acute with Peter. He told the paramedics his stomach started hurting days ago,” Tony revealed and Steve felt the lump of guilt that had settled in his stomach hours ago grow in size. He watched as Tony turned to look at him, the worn look in his husband’s eyes wanting him to look far away. It was silent and tense as the two stared at each other, not one of them wanting to break the silence. He could feel the other team member’s eyes drawn to them and at the moment he wanted to crawl beneath a rock and disappear for ages.

 

Tony blinked first and then he fell back against the chair. Steve eventually did the same.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

About an hour later, Steve and Tony strolled after the nurse who had come to retrieve them from the waiting room with news that the surgery was finished. Before that, the two had barely looked at each other, as they each were drowning in their own thoughts but the seconds the news hit, Steve had crushed Tony into a hug. 

 

“Let’s go see our son,” Tony had murmured, accepting a chaste kiss from Steve before they had started to follow the nurse after promising their team members that they would come get them the second Peter was moved upstairs.

 

“He’s been in and out of it. We’re going to wait a few more minutes before we move him up to his room,” The nurse informed them as they reached a curtained off section of the post recovery area.

 

The two man nodded their heads, not bothering with words as they wanted to be with their child more than ever in that moment.

 

The nurse smiled before opening the curtain and allowing the two Avengers to slip past her.

 

“Oh honey,” Steve cooed as his eyes landed on his son. Tony and him separated hands as they each went to opposite sides of Peter’s bed.

 

Their son was tucked away underneath a heavy blanket, with only his sweet, pale face and soft brown curls exposed. A nasal cannula was hooked around his ears, providing oxygen to his wounded body and Tony couldn’t help but count the numerous wires and tubes that extended out from underneath the blanket; much more than when Peter had been down in the emergency room.

 

“Baby. Peter, it’s Papa and Daddy,” Steve murmured gently bringing up a large hand to sweep Peter’s hair away from his cold, clammy forehead. His eyes had been resting but they fluttered open the moment his father’s hand made contact.

 

“That’s right, honey. Let Papa and Daddy see those beautiful eyes of yours,” Steve gently encouraged, still stroking Peter’s hair.

 

Peter let out a small groan, scrunching his face but didn’t move away from Steve’s hand, but instead leaned further in.

 

“Sleepy,” Peter whined, lettings his eyes drift close once more. He continued to feel his Pop’s hand running through his hair and a moment later a gentle thumb started to caress his cheek and he knew what his dad’s hands felt like as they had comforted him too many times to count in his life.

 

“That’s not a surprise, honey. You just had surgery. Remember?” Tony explained and Peter gave a little nod of his head and regretted it not even a moment later.

 

Peter’s breaths suddenly became quick, startling the two men, and he dug one of his hands out from underneath the blanket to grab at his head.

 

“Don’t feel good,” Peter moaned, closing his eyes in despair, trying to eliminate the dizziness that came on all at once. Steve did hesitate for a second before he started tracking down the nurse while Tony stayed by Peter’s side. He placed one hand on the on Peter was holding onto his head and leaned in close.

 

“Are you in pain, honey? Does your head hurt?” Tony asked, not bothering to hide the anguish in his voice.

 

“No, I just feel like I’m-”

 

Peter didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence as he suddenly lurched up from the bed and vomited one to the middle his lap. Tony’s eyes widened and with quick thinking managed to grab a bedpan on the table side and thrusted it underneath Peter’s face where he managed to deposit most of his second round of vomit.  

 

“I’m sorry,” Peter cried softly, small sobs filling the room and crushing Tony’s heart at the same time.

 

“Nothing, nothing at all to be sorry about. Daddy’s gonna take care of you,” Tony murmured the promise, latching it down with a loving kiss to the side of Peter’s head. Not bothering with trying to find a towel, he slid his jacket off, wrapped a gentle arm around Peter and brought him into his chest, before using the sleeve of his jacket gently wipe at his son’s mouth. At the same time that Steve finally came back with the nurse in tow, gasping at the state he found his son and husband in.

 

“He threw up. Twice,” Tony informed the nurse with a grunt as Steve came up behind him.

 

“I’m guessing you were having nausea instead of pain when you grabbed your head, Peter?” The nurse asked, remembering Steve’s frantic words when he found her. At Peter’s confirmation, she started to strip the blanket off the boy and replaced it with a new one, at the same time explaining that nausea and vomiting was a common side effect of anesthesia.

 

“There has to be medicine for it?” Steve asked as him and Tony gently lowered Peter back down onto the bed. He turned to look at the nurse while Tony grabbed a handful of tissues as gently wiped the stray tears of their son’s face.

 

“I’ll talk to his doctor, but we should be able to give him something once he’s upstairs,” His nurse compromised and Steve sighed before nodding his head. He turned back to Peter but a few seconds later a commotion outside the room had him turning around just in time.

 

“I don’t care who I have to be to go in there and see my nephew. Move.” The voice demanded and a few seconds later, the curtain pulled open revealing the distraught man.

 

“Any reason one of you idiots didn’t mind to tell me that my own godson was having emergency surgery?” Rhodey demanded.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey!!!!! I had to add him into the story one way or another. I hoped you enjoyed that. Hopefully things will kick off to a little bit more speed next chapter! Once again, leave reviews, suggestions, etc.,! XO


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES I KNOW I NEED TO GET BETTER AT THIS UPDATING THINGY BUT I AM A POOR COLLEGE SENIOR WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT SHE IS DOING WITH HER LIFE

“Excuse you, he’s my godson! I already have his wedding toast written: sober and drunk version!” Clint’s accused voice rang out, head popping up behind Rhodey, before the two parents had time to even register Rhodey’s words.

 

“Oh God,” Steve huffed faintly, even though the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

 

“Who’s having a wedding?” Peter whispered into his dad’s ears, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Tony chuckled, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

 

“No one, honey. You just rest now,” Tony replied, smoothing Peter’s hair back gently. Peter continued to frown but obliged, resting back against the bed and letting his dad tuck him in.

 

“You guys, Peter does not need this right now,” Steve addressed the two team members before turning back momentarily to the nurse and offering an apology and a promise that he would have them out of there. Rhodey and Clint tried took their chance when Steve had his back turned to them to slip by him but they were caught quickly and shooed out of there.

 

“You’ll see him upstairs, I promise. He’s a little nauseated and just threw up. Just give him a little space, okay, guys?” Steve reasoned with them and after fighting a few objections the two men went back to their waiting room, fighting on who was going to get Peter the better ‘get well’ gift.

 

“Sorry about your Uncles, sweetheart,” Steve murmured when he walked back towards his son, leaning down to press a kiss to the boy’s cheek.

 

Peter just smiled up lazily at him, not wanting to risk moving again in case his body decided to do another round of vomit.

 

It was relatively quiet by the time Peter got moved upstairs. Unfortunately, the team could not come see him as soon as they hoped as it took a while for Peter to be settled into his room and for the surgical nurse to give report to the floor nurse. And by the time the team could finally come up and squeeze their way into the room, the teen was fast asleep.

 

“Dang it. I hoped squirt would still be awake,” Clint grumbled as he walked in first before throwing a humongous teddy bear, almost half his size, down onto the floor.

 

“Clint, where the hell did you get that?” Tony gawked and his eyes widened as he saw his own wallet flying towards him.

 

“The gift shop, courtesy of your card by the way. Thanks,” Clint replied, giving the billionaire a wink.

 

“I tried to stop them,” Natasha warned as she walked in next, Bruce following her with a sheepish grin on his face while holding a single ‘Get Well Soon!’ balloon in his hand.

 

“Them?” Steve questioned quietly, a hint of worry in his eyes.

 

“Captain America! Man of Iron! I have many gifts to bestow upon your precious lad!” Thor’s voice boomed as he marched into the room with a wide grin, arms filled with what looked like to be half of gift shop.

 

“Also courtesy of you,” Clint pointed out to Tony who gave him an exasperated look.

 

“Oh God. You guys, this is too much,” Steve said at the same time Rhodey walked in with a handful of gift bags.

 

“And keep it down. He needs all the rest he can get,” Tony urged, even though he knew with the combination of pain medications and being a heavy sleeper, Peter wasn’t going to be waking up anytime soon. He scooted closer to the bed and laid a gentle hand on top of his son’s head as the noise around him dwindled.

 

Steve kept fussing over all the gifts that had been brought in, trying to figure out where he would place them in the meanwhile, while each Avenger came over to the other side of Peter’s bed one by one.

 

“Poor thing,” Natasha murmured, letting her composure slide away as she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Peter’s cheek.

 

Clint, Thor and Rhodey all came forward at once, frowns mirroring on their faces as they peered down at the teenager. Bruce had tucked himself away in the corner, waiting for his turn but Tony could see him momentarily glancing with a careful eye, every once in a while, at the monitors attached to Peter. He imagined his friend was going to be worse than him and Steve when it came to pestering and asking questions to the nurses and doctors.

 

Once all the team members had kissed and murmured their love to their little boy, Steve and Tony urged them to get back to the tower. It was nearing midnight and they were all exhausted at this point.

 

“Happy is already on his way with anything that we need, so none of you guys are volunteering for that job,” Tony responded when everyone had offered to go home and grab anything that the couple needed.

 

Steve nodded. “Go home. Rest. You can see him tomorrow when he’s actually awake.”

 

With a little more grumbling, but a few scattered yawns, the team said their goodbyes.

 

Steve closed the door behind them and then made his way over to sit next to Tony, letting out a huge sigh before grabbing a hold of his husband’s hand.

 

  
“You’re exhausted too, Tony. You need to sleep. You can take the couch and I can have the recliner,” Steve murmured, pressing a kiss to Tony’s knuckles.

 

“We both know that’s not going to happen,” Tony pointed out as his fingers kept a steady rhythm running them through Peter’s hair. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off his son for even a second.

 

“Tony, we both need the rest in order to take care of him tomorrow. We’re no use with little sleep,” Steve lectured, earning a glare from his husband. It was back and forth between them before Tony finally relented.

 

“Fine, but I get the recliner,” Tony demanded. Steve relented, knowing that Tony was planning on moving the recliner closer to the bed, holding Peter’s hand throughout the night. He needed the physical connection more than he needed the air around him to breathe.

 

“Okay. Deal. I’m going to go ask for a couple blankets and pillows for us,” Steve told him, pressing a kiss to the top of his husband’s hand before leaving to hunt down the nurse.

 

Tony nodded, watching him leave before going back to Peter. He smiled warmly, taking the hand that wasn’t running through Peter’s hair, to gently stroke his cheek.

 

“God, you scared me today, baby,” Tony whispered, yet the anguish in his voice could be heard from miles away.

 

Steve came in a moment later, armed with a stack of blankets and pillows. After getting themselves situated into their respective sleeping areas, they murmured a soft ‘goodnight’ and gave each other a kiss on the lips.

 

“Wake me up if he does,” Steve instructed before throwing the blanket over himself and curling around on the couch.

 

Tony promised before reclining back in the chair, throwing the blanket over his legs before reaching out to grab a hold of Peter’s hand. He sighed, leaning back, letting his eyes drift close.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early in the morning, the two were woken up by a stampede of medical students following the doctor into the room. It was evident from the look on their faces that this was more of an opportunity to meet the one and only Captain America and Iron Man than it was to learn about an emergency appendectomy post-op patient.

 

Steve had to hold Tony back from throwing punches, but it did little to stop his tongue from lashing out, threatening to ruin the lives of every.

 

“My baby isn’t a fucking show pony. Get them out of here and I want a new doctor! Now!” Tony demanded, eyes blazing with fury until each and every one of the medical students scurried out of there.

 

“Mr. Stark, this is just a teaching moment-” The doctor began to argue back.

 

“Doctor,” Steve warned, voice hard and stern, leaving no room for argument. Tony had dubbed this the ‘Captain America has no time for shit’ tone.

 

“I think it’s time for you to leave and get another one of your colleagues,” Steve demanded before Tony cut in.

 

“Fuck it, I’m just calling Bruce in. He can take care of Peter.”

 

“Mr. Stark, that is hardly necessary and practically impossible. He is in our care and has to be taken care of one of our hospitalists or doctor contracted with the hospital. As far as I know, while Bruce Banner is a genius, he is no medical doctor, none the less a pediatrician.”

 

Tony scuffed, “He’s earned his medical degree; just for the sake of having a paper that stated it even though he’s had years of medical practice and more medical knowledge and compassion for his patients on the tip of his pinky finger than you had for my son. He just had no reason to pronounce it to the rest of the world. We’ll make it work with the hospital. Now, leave.”

 

The doctor left gobsmacked while Tony raced over to his phone to start making calls to Bruce, Pepper and anybody else that he needed to get the job done.

 

Peter had started stirring awake a few seconds ago and Steve stood by his side, waiting for him to wake up.

 

“Papa?” Peter groggily called out as his eyes fluttered open.

 

Steve smiled and nodded his head, leaning down to press a kiss to the teen’s forehead.

 

“How do you feel, honey?” Steve questioned, watching as Peter gingerly grabbed onto his right side.

 

“It burns a little, but not like yesterday,” Peter told him and Steve considered that was to be expected following surgery.

 

“Uncle Bruce is going to be here in just a few to check you over, honey,” Tony said as he walked over, leaning down to press a kiss to Peter’s cheek. Peter smiled and nodded his head before taking a good look around his room.

 

“D-did you guys buy out the gift shop by chance?” Peter asked, eyebrow raised and his parents threw themselves into a laughing fit.

 

“Your uncles decided to steal dad’s wallet and go on a shopping spree for you,” Steve explained and Peter giggled at the image that created in his mind.

 

“Maybe we can hand most of the gifts out to the rest of the patients in the hospital?” Peter suddenly suggested. He knew he would not be able to take home all the multitude of stuffed animals, balloons, and other scattered gift shop items home once he was better.

 

Steve’s eyes lit up at the suggestion and he pressed a kiss to the side of Peter’s head.

 

“That’s a brilliant idea, kiddo and so generous of you too.”

 

Peter blushed and smiled sheepishly up at his Pops after that statement.

 

Tony chuckled and ruffled his hair before calling the nurse in, in order start arranging for all of that.

 

They had gotten most of the items out of the room and ready to be donated to the other patients by the time Bruce arrived.

 

“The others are here too, but I made them wait until after I checked the little tyke over,” Bruce said after greeting the two parents.

 

“Hey there, kiddo,” Bruce greeted with a smile as he walked over to Peter’s bed, grabbing a gentle hold of his hand. Peter grinned up at him, closing his eyes as Bruce leaned down to kiss his forehead.

 

“How do you feel right now, buddy?” Bruce asked, taking a seat on the side of the bed and thus began the series of questions before checking the surgical site for signs of infection, listening to his heart and lungs, checking general vital signs before finally getting him to sit up in bed.

 

“That hurt, kiddo?” Bruce asked, keeping a careful hold of Peter, with the added protection of having Steve and Tony on both side helping holding him up as well.

 

“A little, but I think it’s because I’m pulling at my stitches.”

 

“That’s normal then. Do you think you feel up to standing up?”

 

Peter took a few deep breaths, looking over at his parents for courage before nodding his head. His parents helped him swing his legs over the side of the bed and he waited until Steve got a pair of socks on his feet before all three started to help him off the bed. Peter groaned, gritting his teeth as pain shot out from his side from all the movement but in what felt like minutes but in reality was a few seconds, his parents and uncle got him standing up. He wasn’t standing up by himself, but nonetheless it was progress.

 

“Atta boy,” Steve praised, pressing a kiss to Peter’s head.

 

Peter couldn’t help but smile, accepting kisses from Tony as well. He let himself relax a little, knowing his family wouldn’t let him fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was good enough for you all after such a long wait. Please tell me if you want to see anything in the next following chapters. Hopefully next update is not as long of a wait. As always, reviews are appreciated! Love ya guys!


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